Apparatus and method for using alpha values to improve ray tracing efficiency

Abstract

Apparatus and method for encoding sub-primitives to improve ray tracing efficiency. For example, one embodiment of an apparatus comprises: a ray generator to generate a plurality of rays in a ray tracing graphics pipeline; a sub-primitive generator to subdivide each primitive of a plurality of primitives into a plurality of sub-primitives; a sub-primitive encoder to identify a first subset of the plurality of sub-primitives as being fully transparent and to identify a second subset of the plurality of sub-primitives as being fully opaque; and wherein the first subset of the plurality of primitives identified as being fully transparent are culled prior to further processing of each respective primitive.

Description

BACKGROUNDField of the Invention[0001]This invention relates generally to the field of graphics processors. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for using values to improve ray tracing efficiency.Description of the Related Art[0002]Ray tracing is a technique in which a light transport is simulated through physically-based rendering. Widely used in cinematic rendering, it was considered too resource-intensive for real-time performance until just a few years ago. One of the key operations in ray tracing is processing a visibility query for ray-scene intersections known as “ray traversal” which computes ray-scene intersections by traversing and intersecting nodes in a bounding volume hierarchy (BVH).BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS[0003]A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained from the following detailed description in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:[0004]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer s...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes an invention that improves the efficiency of ray tracing, a technique used in graphics processing. The invention uses a method to enhance the performance of the ray tracing process by optimizing the processing of ray-scene intersections, which is a time-consuming operation. The invention proposes a method to improve the efficiency of the ray tracing process by using values to improve the performance of the process. The technical effects of the invention include faster and more effective ray tracing, better utilization of processor cores, and improved performance in real-time performance.

Problems solved by technology

Widely used in cinematic rendering, it was considered too resource-intensive for real-time performance until just a few years ago.

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